A number of residents have recently contacted me to ask about the current restricted opening hours at Alderley Edge Library. Firstly, I would like to reassure everyone that the future of the library is not under threat; however, the Library Service has lost three members of staff over the course of the last few months, including one to retirement, one to long-term sickness and one to alternative employment.
I have spoken to the Library Manager to ask for an update on recruitment and am pleased to report that so far there has been a healthy number of applications both for the 18-hour post and the two 16.5-hour posts (the deadline is this Friday, 4th March). Once the interview process has been completed and offers of employment both made and accepted, the proposed new opening hours will be as follows:
Monday Closed
Tuesday 09:30 - 17:00 (13:00 - 17:00 volunteer-led)
Wednesday 09:30 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:30 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00
Friday Closed
Saturday 09:30 - 13:00
I have also asked what can be done to extend the opening hours at Alderley Edge, pending the recruitment of new staff, since our local volunteers are currently covering more hours than the paid Cheshire East Library Officers and am pleased to report that as a result, from w/c 14th March, the library will also be open on Wednesday mornings between 09:30 - 12:00.
This will mean that library staff will be on hand on both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for the foreseeable future and that visitors will have access to the full range of library services (including blue badge applications and people's network) during these times. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank our group of local volunteers for their support on Tuesday afternoons.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please note that whilst I am pleased to publish and respond to comments left by residents, any comments left anonymously will be deleted.